Author: Jackie Kabler
Publication: One More Chapter, trade paperback, 2021
Genre: Psychological Suspense
Setting: Present-day Great Britain
A devoted wife . . .
A year ago, Gemma met the love of her life, Danny. Since then, their relationship has been perfect. But one evening, Danny doesn’t return to their new home.
A missing husband . . .
Gemma turns to the police. She is horrified by what she discovers – a serial killer is on the loose in Bristol. When she sees photos of the victims she is even more stunned . . . they all look just like Danny.
Who would you believe?
But the police are suspicious. Why has no one apart from Gemma heard from Danny in weeks? Why is there barely a trace of him in their flat? Is she telling them the truth, or is this marriage hiding some very dark secrets?
My Impression: Told in the first person, this is a fast-paced and enjoyable suspense novel about a relatable heroine whose husband is missing. Thank goodness she has a dog for comfort as her life spins out of control when the police suspect her of knowing more about Danny’s disappearance than she will admit. Gemma and Danny were so busy settling into their new home in Bristol that they hadn’t made any new friends or spent much time out and about. Alone and upset, Gemma can’t figure out what is happening to her life but as a former reporter she knows the police should be doing more, so asks her best friend Eva to come down from London to help her investigate. As a reader, I liked Gemma but have got so conditioned to unreliable narrators that I did not want to like or trust her!
The police procedural aspect of this book is also entertaining. I’d like to read more books about Detective Chief Inspector Helena Dickens and Detective Sergeant Devon Clarke, who are interesting characters with good rapport, so I hope the author follows up with them. The author kept them guessing as well as the reader! This is my twelfth book for the Cloak and Dagger Challenge.
Source: I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher and TLC Book Tours for review purposes. Please visit other stops on the tour to see what others thought:
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6 comments:
Sounds good! :)
Well this sounds quite interesting. We used to live in a town called Keynsham which is midway between Bristol and Bath and my husband worked in both cities for the eight years we lived there. We still have friends there, whose daughter is a policewoman oddly enough. So... I should probably read this shouldn't I? LOL
This sounds good, I like books written in first person. They get me more involved in the story. I do not like that so many books are based on unreliable narrators now, and I usually assume that the narration is reliable, although anyone's narration of their own story would be biased in some way.
It's great that there's a full series to delve into! And I hear you on the unreliable characters -- they seem to be everywhere these days. Case in example: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (and I am not giving away spoilers, I hope!). ~Lex
Great job on piquing my interest in this! This "unreliable narrator" is a THING right now. It is unnerving on every level, in every format.
I found this an enjoyable weekend read, if not memorable past that timeframe. Although set in Bristol, Cath, I wouldn't say it had as strong a sense of place as the book I just finished which takes place in Cardiff (which made it fun as I was there not so very long ago).
I will admit I too am tired of unreliable narrators and I can't decide if using the first person makes it easier or harder for an author to employ that device. A lot of those gothics I read as a teen were written in the first person, leading up to the, "Oh, it's you!" as the bad guy menaces her! Actually, I think Agatha Christie uses that a lot and it is hard to criticize her! I enjoy some books set in the first person but I guess it depends whether it seems convincing.
Lex, there isn't a full series as far as I know but if the author were smart, she would write more about the police in this book as they seemed to have potential.
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